Celebrations
by 24vampiregirl
Summary: The celebrations from the end of Breaking Dawn after the Volturi leave. A missing moment from Breaking Dawn. Designed to fit into the gap between the chapters 38 and 39. Through Bella's point of view as she realizes her family will be safe forever.


_**I'm seriously terrible with finishing off my started stories. Every time I sit down to write another chapter, a whole new idea comes to my head. So while I can't give you another chapter for one of my other stories at this moment, I can give you this one shot which has been in my head for a very long time. **_

_**This takes place near the end of Breaking Dawn, right after the Volturi have left. I wanted to cover the celebrations; after all, it was one of the happiest moments of the whole series. Hopefully I can do this amazing scene justice. **_

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><p>"<em>Forever," Edward echoed in my ear.<em>

_I couldn't speak anymore. I lifted my head and kissed him with a passion that might possibly set_

_the forest on fire._

_I wouldn't have noticed._

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><p>I had all but forgotten about the crowd of vampires around us. It didn't matter that we weren't in private, or that Jacob waited impatiently, twitching in excitement at my side. All I cared about was that Edward and I would be together forever, the way it was supposed to be from the beginning. And our daughter could stay with us, young and youthful. She would never become old and die, her physical growth wouldn't keep developing at its frightening rate. The happiness and passion was too much to bear.<p>

So I remained locked in Edward's arms, trying to remember that I was still strong, that our daughter's body was still locked between ours. This overwhelming, almost drowning exuberance did not fade as I crushed my lips to Edward's. He kissed me back with the same uncontrollable passion, keeping one arm around me, the other holding Nessie closely to our bodies. She had a small hand pressed against each of our necks, not showing any thoughts as such, just exuding happiness. Even thought we had kept her from the worst possibility that our confrontation could have gone, she had still felt enough sadness and fear that her mood was ecstatic now.

"I see some things never change," A small, twinkling voice came up behind us, humour in her tone as she took in our passionate embrace, far too intimate, despite the numerous other couples engaging this way. I had thought nothing could distract me, but I was wrong. My head turned like a whip at the beautiful sound I had longed to hear for weeks.

"Alice!" I all but screamed, leaving Nessie in Edward's arms as I bounded over to her. It took me one step to land right in front of her, despite her being a good ten feet away. Alice laughed as I threw my arms around her waist, lifting her into the air as I hugged her close. I lay my cheek against her hair, rememorizing her scent, trying to contain some of the exploding excitement which threatened to rip me apart. It took all my strength not to crush her in my embrace, my happiness well past controllable.

"I forgot how enthusiastic you are," Alice laughed when I finally put her down. I couldn't help but smile, so wide I felt it was now permanently sculpted into my face. I bounced around, unable to remain still while Alice tightly embraced Nessie, then Edward, who ruffled her hair and held her tightly in his arms. I even watched in surprise and Jacob leaned right down, dropping his enormous head so he could nudge Alice in the arm. She mock punched him back. So many good things which came out of one day. It was overwhelming.

The celebrations continued around us, everyone in their own little bubbles of happiness, surrounded by the aura of hope and relief which engulfed all of us. Benjamin and Tia were still locked in each other's arms, their youthful faces staring happily at each other. The Amazonians all stood close to each other, with their fingers interlocked. I remembered thinking that Zafrina and Senna were like two limbs of one organism. I now realized Kachiri was a third limb, one which had been greatly missed for the past month. Carmen and Eleazar were embracing passionately, as were Peter and Charlotte.

The other half of the Denali clan stood very closely with Carlisle's arms around the two sisters. The mood of happiness did not touch them like the rest of us. Tanya and Kate still looked to be in shock, grieving for their sister. I was pleased to see that Garrett was with them too, holding Kate tightly and murmuring comforting words to the family. I felt almost guilty for celebrating amongst their loss, but I couldn't help the feelings inside of me as I realized all my family were safe.

Unable to stand having her out of my arms, I took Renesmee back from Alice. Edward put our arms around us both, kissing Nessie on the cheek as she smiled amazingly at him. The howling in the clearing had not died down. The wolves were running around, jumping, looking both young and ecstatic as they leaped around celebrating with each other. Jacob would have happily joined them, but he was staring at Nessie in complete amazement, an insane relief that she was safe, and would be safe forever.

Jasper came up behind Alice after a few seconds, appearing from out of nowhere (I was far too distracted by Edward and my daughter to notice anything around us). He nodded to Jacob, and the gesture was surprisingly friendly. After all, it was the wolves who stopped the Volturi's advance. I wondered how long Alice had been waiting in the bushes, watching as we all prepared to die. Judging by Edward's outburst, I assumed she had arrived in the nick of time.

Jasper looked slightly surprised as I threw myself at him, thankful to have him home. I didn't realize how close we had become until he had left. Jasper hugged me back, kissing Renesmee on the cheek. Him and Edward punched each other on the arms, just like any other brothers would, but I could see how happy they were to be together as a family again. Finally everyone was back to where they belonged.

The cheers and howling died down. Screaming in exultation had changed into half a dozen little conversations occurring, each coven both sharing their joy with each other, and the rest of the visitors. Over such a horrible situation we had all been brought together. Some of the wolves had started retreating back into the forest, probably preparing to go home back to their loved ones, back to their family. After all, most of them were still children. They had parents at home, waiting, questioning whether their children would come home. I couldn't imagine what it would be like for Emily and Kim, sitting at home, not knowing whether they would see their wolves ever again. But they would. The wolves could go home and see everyone they thought they would never see again. We all could.

I clung onto Edward, never letting him go as we conversed with Alice and Jasper like nothing had ever happened. At some point during our conversations, the Romanian's left, grumbling the whole time. They were the only ones who wanted this to turn into a fight, so I couldn't share their disappointment. Carlisle and Esme flitted between the various groups, thanking them for helping save our lives. I felt our truce was stronger than ever as Carlisle thanked Sam- who had phased back into his human form- for making the Volturi soldiers stop. We were all bound to a single person. Renesmee had everyone united, forming bonds which would never be broken.

Finally they reached us. Carlisle put his hand on Edward's shoulder before kissing Renesmee and I on the cheek. Esme embraced us all fiercely, even dragging Jacob into the big family hug. His wolfy grin was such that he didn't even look uncomfortable as Esme threw her arm around his neck. He was a part of our family now, and would remain so for the rest of our lives. Once Rosalie and Emmett had broken away from their intimate celebrations, they came over to join the rest of our family.

"Oh, Nessie," Rosalie crooned, taking Renesmee in her arms. They hugged tightly, Renesmee placing her hand against Rosalie's cheek. I wondered what she was telling her. Emmett mock punched me and Edward on the shoulder, joking about how things won't be as exciting at home anymore.

"Damn, Bella," Emmett clapped me on the back. "I didn't know you could do that!" I knew he was referring to the strength of my shield as he congratulated me. The rest of my family had expressions of pride, surprise and appreciation on their faces. Edward's expression of complete awe, like I was a God or something had me the most confused. Jacob looked appreciate, but to him, I was just Bella. For that I was pleased.

"Neither did I," I replied while the others laughed. Even Nessie reached out to touch my face. She was proud of me, showing me images of myself in her memory as Alec's mist tried to find an opening in my shield. Through her eyes, I saw how truly brilliant my shield must have looked to others. I would have never guessed that the little glitch in my brain would have been enough to save my family, or at least keep them safe mentally until Alice was able to step in.

Thus we continued with our celebrations, far too happy and excited to go home just yet. Carlisle and Esme continued to thank the rest of our visitors, wishing them the best for the future, insisting we see each other again soon. I could see that the nomads were preparing to leave, so Jasper went over to talk to Peter and Charlotte, his oldest friends, before they took off. We said our goodbyes to Mary and Randall, who were eager to return to their nomadic lifestyle, thanking them for all they had done to help us.

The Amazonians took off next, Zafrina reluctant to leave as she said goodbye to Nessie. They had grown so close in the past few weeks, both able to communicate in their silent, unusual ways. Siobhan's coven was quick to follow, but made us promise first that we would come see them soon. The noise quietened down as the visitors all filtered off. In a strange way, it was a relief that the house wouldn't be so busy. We had spent the past few weeks with so little family time, and now we would have years and years ahead with each other. It was like Alice's vision had never occurred.

I was surprised when the South American visitors did not leave with the Amazonians, but we owed them too much to say anything about leaving. Every few minutes I noticed Nahuel looking at Nessie, meeting my eyes each time. His expression was one of amazement, his heart still racing from exhilaration. I was too excited to pay attention to his glances for the moment, wrapping my arms around Edward tightly.

There was still a buzz in the atmosphere, even when most of our guests had left. Eventually, only the Denali coven and our South American heroes remained. I could see that the atmosphere was too much for Tanya and Kate, who cried tearlessly over their sister, unable to look at the dwindling flame which had once been their dearest sibling. I couldn't imagine their pain, knowing that they would never see their sister again; they _could_ never see her again. It hurt just to think about losing any member of my family.

"Feel free to come visit at any time, Tanya," Carlisle said as the coven prepared to leave. "You're always welcome here." Carmen and Eleazar were more in control of their grief, thanking Carlisle for the offer. Garrett had his arms around Kate and Tanya, comforting them. I felt a small bit of happiness as I realized they would have someone else to help them through their grief. Garrett's adventurous spirit was uplifting, and we parted on a much happier note. Everyone took their turn hugging Nessie goodbye, and then we were left in the clearing.

The wolves had cleared off, all but the one standing next to me. I knew that they wouldn't drop their guard right away though. There would always be someone running around in the woods, watching out to make sure the Volturi don't come back. It was almost unbelievable that they had gone in peace in the first place.

"Should we go back home?" Esme asked as the Denali's departed. I shared her eagerness to return to the house. Most of our family nodded.

"You are welcome to join us," Carlisle told Huilen and Nahuel, obviously grateful to them for saving all our lives. I couldn't thank them enough. There were no words to describe just how much I owe them. It was baffling to think that there is another half-human, half-vampire just like Nessie, but I couldn't be more grateful for Nahuel. Thanks to him, we will never have to fear for Renesmee's life again.

Edward and I ran hand in hand, leading the way back to the house, the fastest runners in the group, for the meanwhile at least. Carlisle and Esme were close behind us, followed by Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, then Huilen and Nahuel at the back. Nahuel ran much faster than the fastest human in the world, but his pace was still slightly slower than your typical vampires. Somewhere off to the right, Jacob followed parallel to us. I wondered what he would do with his time now that he didn't have to spend every minute with Nessie, fearing for her life. Hopefully he would go back home, to school. I hated to think of him giving up on his education, and Billy would be dying to see his son, now more than ever.

As we ran, Renesmee's eyes started drooping; her body relaxing in Edward's arms as she started drifting off to sleep. It was nice to know she would finally be getting a good night's sleep. So much pressure had been on her, and as much as we tried to shield her from our own emotions, she had been burdened with our feelings of fear and hopelessness. Edward held Nessie cradled close to his chest, one arm holding her tightly while the other held my hand, our fingers interlocked.

As I squeezed his hand, Edward looked up and smiled at me, like he was seeing the light for the first time. I beamed widely back, dropping his hand as we raced the rest of the way home. We bounded over the river together, landing within a second of each other. It took a few seconds for the rest of the vampires, plus Jacob to join us in the living room. After the past few weeks, the house felt empty, despite having more than the usual amount of people inside it.

Carlisle invited Huilen and Nahuel to sit down on the couch, obviously continuing an earlier conversation they were having. The two South American's sat very close to each other, and I could see Huilen had fallen into a mothering role with her nephew. Nahuel, with his boyish features- he didn't look any older than a teenager- obviously looked up to Huilen.

Edward dragged me to the other couch, putting one arm tightly around my shoulders, handing Renesmee's sleeping form to me. Like he _could_ read my mind, he sensed my need to have Nessie close to my chest. Alice tucked herself under Edward's other arm, pulling Jasper onto the couch. Somehow, Esme managed to sit by Jasper, all of our bodies sandwiched against each other. Rosalie and Emmett lounged on the ground, and to my surprise, Jacob joined them, sitting between Emmett and my end of the couch.

Even though there weren't as many people as there had been a few days ago, the mood was one of pure happiness as Edward gave a step-by-step recount of the Volturi's actions, as only he could hear the minds of everyone at once- well, everyone except for me. Everyone leaned forward as Edward explained, asking questions, sighing in recognition as things they didn't understand were answered for them. I tired to ignore the stares Nahuel gave my daughter, the only other half-vampire who wasn't his sister. A couple of times it would look like he was staring at me, but that made no sense, so I was probably making it up, being paranoid.

So I listened quietly, keeping one hand tightly in Edward's, our fingers interlocked, our bodies close. Renesmee slept peacefully on my lap, her body half lying across me, half across Edward, our perfect little family, surrounded by a much bigger one. All the puzzle pieces fit perfectly, no longer about to be destroyed. Everything was almost too good to be true. I kept waiting for the moment I would wake up and realize that the past six months have all been a dream. But that would never happen. My mouth stretched into a grin again.

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, or diminish the joy in my heart. Finally, after years of heartbreak and complications, everything in my life seemed perfect. My daughter would live forever, happy and healthy and young, Jacob would be happy, my family would no longer be put in danger by my actions, and most importantly, Edward and I could stay together forever, with our own little, but completely perfect family. Finally we were about to experience our of happily ever after.

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! This probably won't be continued, it was just an idea which hasn't left me alone for a few years. I have half finsished chapters for my other stories, so hopefully you can look forward to an update on 'Distractions' and 'Practice Makes Perfect' sometime soon, however, it may not be until the Breaking Dawn Part One DVD is released in myu country so I can have a little more inspiration. Please review and tell me what you think!<em>**


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